You’ve probably heard of the benefits of eating and drinking things like wine, raw cacao and blueberries because they contain lots of antioxidants but what are antioxidants? Antioxidants are substances that stop or prevent cell damage caused by oxidants during oxidation. Oxidation in the body changes the structure of certain cells and the body creates oxidants to ward off viruses but too many can cause serious damage. It’s also what causes apples and avocados to turn brown once they've been cut.

Free radicals are a byproduct of oxidation. They're also a byproduct of the process of converting food to energy, stress, overexposure to sunlight, and air pollution. Antioxidants neutralise free radicals and protect the body against oxidation and they help prevent or stop further cell damage from occurring. The key is having a balance of oxidants and antioxidants. Antioxidants protect the body from diseases naturally with virtually no side-effects but too many of them causes the suppression of the body’s natural ability to activate its own antioxidant defines system.

Antioxidants can be found in cacao, blueberries, red wine, tea, tomatoes, coffee, and wheatgrass. They're naturally occurring in the form of flavanols (dark chocolate and cacao), resveratrol (wine), lycopene (tomatoes), and vitamins A, C, and E. If you want to add more antioxidants to your diet, stick to natural sources and not supplements because the balance between oxidants and antioxidants is very important and its really hard to get too much from a well-balanced diet alone. If you’re at our stores and looking for a way to increase your antioxidants, try the Cup of Youth that has tons of blueberries and The Sh*t or the Powerball, both choked full of cacao.

As if we needed a reason to indulge in superfood smoothies, guilt-free raw treats and the occasional dark chocolate and wine.